Muskegon Community College sent 6 runners to compete in Huntsville, AL at the NJCAA Division II National Championship; Kyler Dean (Vicksburg) finished in 3rd place in the men’s race and the team of Elizabeth Chaffee (Newaygo), Jolena Deaton (White Cloud), Kierra Flegel (Kent City), Madison Parmley (Whitehall) and Sierra Vanderwier (Fruitport) finished 25th in the women’s race.

This year proved to be a year of redemption for Dean; he came into nationals last year ranked 3rd overall but finished 19th. This year he was able to shake off an early season injury and at the end of the season he was training hard and efficiently. He was ranked 22nd to start the race and was 52nd after the first 2000m but that didn’t stop him from charging to the lead pack and battling for the 1-3 spots for the remainder of the race. At the end of the race he claimed 3rd place out of 291 runners which earned him All-American status, a school record and the best finish for any Jayhawk runner in school history.

The Women’s team came into the race ranked 25th in the nation and despite an ankle injury to Vanderwier and Deaton coming down sick, the team raced their hearts out and matched their 25th place ranking to finish 25th.

“As the season comes to a close I find myself reflecting on a season with a lot of stress and love for these student athletes,” said Coach Nick Marcinkowski. “The highs and lows were abundant but as always the highs outweigh the lows.”